i think sunsets are beautiful. that is south carolina. >> greg: don't you understand nobody enjoys a sunset unless they're look at a real one. oh, look, i'm online. look at the sunset. go outside. >> dana: what if you have never been to bellingham, washington. >> greg: if you are prison, i understand. >> dana: you are wrong. >> greg: this is 80th birthday of nancy. you remember nancy. lovely nancy there. she is with slugo. both orphans. they are 80 years old but they never ageed. slugo. >> bob: they are your size, too. >> dana: i guarantee you that nancy likes sunset for sure. you are wrong on that. >> dana: for those who send me picture of your dog send your favorite sunset to greg on twitter. >> greg: you evil person. that is it for "the five." thank you for watching. see you tomorrow.

captioned by closed captioning services, inc >> bret: a new congress. new downgrade threat. new battle. three days in to the new year. this is "special report." ♪ ♪ >> bret: good evening. i'm bret baier. a new congress sworn in today is getting ready for a familiar fight up against a new deadline. the way divided government washington worked or not worked in recent months. an american dream is in peril because of the growing deficit and national debt. senate majority leader talked about spending reductions, balanced with revenue from the wealthiest in the country. the messages could not be different. but the fight is the same. senior white house correspondent wendell goler has the lead story. >> reporter: senate majority

leader mitch mcconnell welcomed the new congress and presented the lawmakers with an old problem. >> either we stackal the nation's spending problem. or it will tackle us. that simple. >> hours before president obama signed the tax deal aimed to keep the nation from sliding off the fiscal cliff, mcconnell says the agreement settles the revenue debate for good with the rich now paying their fair share. it will mean higher taxes for three-quarters of the country, but with no spending cuts in the fiscal cliff deal, they made clear that the coming fights over raising the debt ceiling is where the republicans make their stand. >> we cannot agree to increase the borrowing limit without adegreing to reforms that lower the avalanche of spen spending. that creates the debt in the first place. >> mr. obama warned lawmakers that is a fight he doesn't intend to have. >> i will negotiate over many things, i will not have another debate with this

congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they wracked up. through laws they passed. >> the last flirted with a default to cost us a lower credit rating. today, moody's the rating agency said it will take measure to reduce budget deficit in the next debt ceiling debate to warn the debt trajectory resulting from the process is likely to determine whether the triple-a rating is returned to a stable outlook or downgraded to aa-1. former obama budget director orzag admits republicans have more leverage in debt ceiling debate than over the fiscal cliff. while there is widespread agreement like medicare and driving the debt, less agreement on who is to blame for not fixing it. >> the president brought everyone in a room. looking at entitlement was part of the big deal. cantor walked out.

john boehner walked out. >> speaker boehner and cantor gave up trying to negotiate with the president because he moved the goalposts on him. we'll have the same players in obama's second term. >> bret: stocks fell this afternoon when the federal reserve lost meeting revealed a split between central bank officials over how long the feds should keep buying bonds to support the u.s. economy. the dow lost 21. s&p 500 gave back three. nasdaq finished behind 12. out with the old and in with the new. the 113th congress was sworn in today and speaker boehner was able to hold on to his job, despite some defections. mike emanuel on capitol hill with the latest. >> honorable john a. boehner of the state of ohio received majority of the votes cast is duly elected speaker of the

house of representatives for 113 time. >> and john boehner has been re-elected to serve another two years. there were nine g.o.p. defections including three members voting for majority leader cantor. though candor didn't encourage the split. >> hope for the future of our country. i present the people's gavel to the speaker of the house. john boehner. [ applause ] >> after winning the gavel an emotional boehner told members new and old the job ahead will be difficult. >> $16 trillion and rising, the national debt is draining free enterprise, and weakening the ship of state. >> but the speaker made it clear he intends to lead. >> public service was never meant to be easy living. extraordinary challenges demand extraordinary leadership. >> boehner hinted he intends to change the approach giving up one on one negotiation with president obama that failed to produce results and made

members uneasy. he said he is recommitting himself and letting the house work its will. former speaker warped when you mostly democrats carried legislation you lose power. >> when you pass stuffs that the members aren't in line with, your ability to lead is in jeopardy. >> please raise your right hand. >> across the capital after the new senators were sworn in, the senate republican leader negotiated the fiscal cliff deal with vice president bide boyd tried to move forward. >> aside from shielding 9 #% of the constituents and many of yours from the painful effects of the middle class tax hike, the president seemed willing to impose that. it gave us something else. it settled the revenue debate for good. >> lighter moment, majority leader reid made reference to his personal appearance and said they were not scars from the recent battles in the 112 congress. >> marks that people see on my

face has nothing to do with the fiscal cliff or the disagreement that speaker and i have. it's from being pale and livinliving in the desert most f my life. >> tomorrow, the house and senate are expected to vote to authorize 9:00 p.m. in sandy relief money. boehner says the house will consider additional $51 billion on january 15. the first full legislative day. >> mike emanuel live on the hill. thank you. senior political analyst brit hume has thoughts on how history should be republicans' guide as they look to reign in government spending. good evening. happy new year. >> same to you. thank you. you will hear repeatedly in weeks ahead that failure to raise the debt ceiling means depault. beware. default as traditionally understood is failure to meet the interest payment on the nation's debt. the payments account for 6% of federal spending. debt limit not raised it would mean no more borrowing.

the tax receipts would continue to cover 60% of spen spending. so you will hear the phrase default on our obligations. that just means there wouldn't enough money for federal spen spending. this is where the conservatives need be careful. they are double minded about the federal government. they may want it cut down but history suggests they don't want it shut down. standoff between speaker newt gingrich and president clinton in the 1990s led to a partial government shutdown, the public hated it. held the republicans responsible. they ended up getting nothing but blame. republican back ventures could learn from this. one more thing you can learn is you can't run washington with control of one house and the senate and the white house in opposition hands.

bret? >> bret: when it comes down to it, how much leverage do republicans have backed up against the debt ceiling deadlock? >> they have leverage but think need nerves of steel. if the senate and white house refuse to go along with serious entitlement reform or changes to cut spending they will be in a position to be accused as i suggested of promoting default and accused to shut down the major functions and some of that may happen. they may get blame. they will need to be very, very tough indeed to make this leverage stick. interesting to see if they can do it. >> bret: thank you. >> you bet. >> bret: some things if everyone that is not a good thing. topic is new regulation. shannon bream on the regulatory agenda and the wide reach. >> by law, they are required to release accounting of the

proposed federal regulation each april and october. but that didn't happen last year. the obama administration released the 2012 regulatory agenda on the friday afternoon before christmas. >> the fact that this snuck in after the election in the holiday season when people were otherwise occupied with the families not surprising. >> the current line-up of proposes steps of thousands of pages. >> this is all of the federal agencies, many of whom have thousands of the regulations. in small type. it goes on and on and on. there is no way any human being could sit down to read this thing from front to back. if they could, they would get a metal. >> the american action forum says many lack the relevant fiscal. implementation could cost

$123 billion. take 13 million man hours. the regulators draft the rules without the congressional involvement to give them power to touch every facet of your life. >> they control the cost of the products that you buy. they control your living conditions. the work conditions. they limit activities that you can do. >> in addition, the administration is way behind. when it comes to regulatory deadline for the healthcare law and the dodd frank law. missing 50% of them so far. bret? >> bret: shannon, thank you. in the first presidential campaign, candidate obama said he was against signing a bill in law but also attaching a statement resevening congressional right to bypass the law as end run around the provisions. he told the boston globe in

2007, i will not use siping statement to nullify congressional instructions enacted in law. last night he released one to the national defense authorization act. he wrote in part even though i support the vast majority of the provisions contained in this act, i do not agree with them all. the president issued # 2 signing statements since take office. al gore gets a big pay-out from al-jazeera. we'll explain in the grapevine. you next, president obama may have difference with the predecessors but he kept bush's war on terror policies. [ male announcer ] coughequence™ #8. waking the baby. [ coughs ] [ baby crying ] ♪ [ male announcer ] robitussin® liquid formula

soothes your throat on contact and the active ingredient relieves your cough. robitussin®. don't suffer the coughequences™. bikes and balloons, wholesome noodles on spoons. a kite, a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. catches and throws, and spaghettio's. that's what happy kids are made of. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. that's what happy kids a♪e made of. ♪ hi dad. many years from now, when the subaru is theirs... hey. you missed a spot. ...i'll look back on this day and laugh. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

>> bret: this is a fox news alert. newly released document show clare anwar al-awlaki was bigger player in 9/11 attacks than previously thought. catherine herridge is standing by with breaking details. what can you tell us? >> thank you. good evening. within weeks of the 9/11

terror attack in 2001 that killed 3,000 americans the f.b.i. suspected the american cleric anwar al-awlaki purchased tickets for halftimers in the months leading up to the attack. according to newly released f.b.i. records exclusively reviewed by fox news and obtained by judicial watch, the bureau of investigation of the visa transaction showed purchases for muhammad antaw on august 13, 2001, for american west airlines flight from washington, d.c., to las vegas, nevada, to miami, florida. according to the joint congressional inquiry to 9/11 this is one of his final crucial surveillance flights. on august 13, 2001, he flew a second time across country from washington to las vegas, on a boeing 757 seated in first class. returning on august 14 to fort lauderdale. the record also show purchases for halftimeer in july of 2001 for a flight from fort -- hijacker in july in 2001 for flight from fort lauderdale

and then was a flight for another muscle hijacker. >> a few months later, he is brought in the pentagon for a meeting as part of a muslim outreach program. not only do the documents show he was buying tickets for hijackers they show he was a central focus of the f.b.i.'s investigation of 9/11. >> handling of the al-awlaki spans the bush and the obama administration. al-awlaki was the first american citizen targeted for death by the c.i.a. and killed in september of 2011. bret? >> bret: you mentioned that al-awlaki was taken out bay drone strike in september of 2011 in yemen. america's use of drone in pakistan, has obviously increased substantially under president obama. we are getting word of senior taliban commander was killed in a strike tuesday in pakistan northwest territory. drone strike. guantanamo bay detension facility that is open and the resigning of fisa, all bush

era war on terror programs that continued or expanded and now rendition. >> new case is raising questions about the detention policy. >> arrested in augustover seas in jabuti. training for one suspects a the men were held in secret, interrogated by the authorities and u.s. agents. detention only became public when the documents were unveiled in december and the me briefly appeared in a brooklyn court. >> appropriate venue is not to take somebody involved in a civil war in east africa and bring them to the eastern district of new york. to be prosecuted in a control court. >> he says there is no evidence that the client who admits he is a member committed crime against the u.s. citing a thin indictment that has conspiracy to provide support to foreign terrorist

organization. >> under that definition, we can probably round up tens of thousands of fighters. and clog our court system for the next couple of decades. >> justice department disputes the allegation of rendition. telling fox the suspects were apprehended by the african-american authorities. months later they were indicted in federal court in new york. ultimately, they were transferred lawfully and pursuant to request for formal channel of custody of authority in africa to the f.b.i. critics say the recent case raises questions about the detention practice and point to candidate obama statement to shun use of rendition altogether. >> we're not a country to run prison and lock people away without telling them why they are there. what they are charged with. >> military analysts believe the men are of interest to the u.s. because they have valuable intelligence about the al-qaeda network in east africa, which explains in part the detention prosecution in the u.s. bret? >> okay. thank you. >> you're welcome. >> bret: we are seeing today

the first released photo of president obama being briefed on september 11, 2019, attack on consulate in benghazi. fox and other news organizations asked for photos from that night. however, the requests had been denied. the first photo from that night. still ahead, environmentalists are looking forward to suing american countries for polluting canada. we'll explain. israelis are worried tha violence will spill over to their country from syria.

,

>> bret: twin airstrikes on a large suburb of damascus

left people looking for dead in the rubble there. and they might exploit get away to israel that had been relatively quiet. correspondent leland vittert takes a closer look at the golan heights. >> recent syrian rebel show better armed and organized fighters laying siege to the airfield in the northern part of the country. suburbs around the capital. they show sharp increase in jihadists under the black islamist flag. and getting most of their weapons pillaging overrun army weapon depots. 3,000 hand grenades and 200,000 bullets. said this commander inventorying a recent take. from israel's boarder with a war-torn country jewish state army officer can see the battle for syria in the villages below the outpost. "today, the border is controlled by no one," explains lieutenant colonel

marks. terrorist organizations could infiltrate through the fence." this is a border fence and they with working at brakeneck speed to reinforce the -- breakneck speed to reinforce the area. this is a tent trap they put in, concrete wall going deep down here underground steel reinforced to prevent vehicles crashing through. they are worried about people. that is where this comes in. it's a lot bigger than the old fence. 25 feet tall. steel reinforced with the lattice welded to the fence. they will put razor wire on top to prevent anyone climbing over. crews drive in post to complete work on the 40-mile long stretch before militants exploit the porous border. the israelis abandoned the outpost because thicks have been so quiet for -- things have been quiet for four decades now. with the syrian civil war

raging a mile away, the entire strategic calculation has changed. president assad's tactics are brutal as he tries to keep control of his country for israel, the devil they know is far better than the devil they don't. rebel victory for a failed state inside syria is a grave threat to israeli national security. so much so that seasonals may once again be manning these outposts, looking for militants, coming up from syria. bret? >> bret: leland vittert in golan heights. thank you. immigration is a hot button top take potentially will lead to heated te bait with congress in president obama's second term. chief washington correspondent james rosen looks at the initial flash points. >> reporter: when the new rule takes effect in march, those who came to the u.s. illegally but who say married an american citizen have a clean critical record to prove hardship by extended

absence will no longer have to leave the u.s. for both staples for the application for green card. they can complete stage one applying for a waiver of inadmissibility in the u.s. however, they will still have to return to the home country for interview by the state department. >> so you have people waiting for years and years or even afraid to go back to the own country to be unified with their immediate family members. so it's a compassionate way to deal with this law. >> officials at the department of homeland security said upward of 25,000 illegal ail yeps a year will seek to take advantage of the change in rules announced quietly on january 2. but neither the overall population of the illegal immigrants nor those with a viable path to citizen will be enlarged by change. today, a top immigration official vowed a full effort at broader reform by the president this year. >> take it from me. the present system doesn't work well. the laws have not kept up with reality. i think everybody on both

sides of the aisle realizes that now is the time to really make a serious evident at reform. >> good afternoon, everybody. >> in june, the president announced changes to the rulesgoning deportation of people brought to the u.s. illegally as children. critics charge mr. obama is renigging on the previous penals not to tackle immigration reform piecemeal. he is usurping the power of congress, governing by executive orders and rule changes. >> this is just another example of putting the immigration laws aside and conveying to everyone that we don't take them seriously. why should you? >> bulk of illegal imgrants affected by the rule change are mexico. for them, interview with the state department official in home country will mean a trip to the processing center in juarez. d.h. officials said the average wait for unification with family here will decrease from 3 to 10 years or longer to weeks. >> bret: james, thank you. imagine the government would not let you use your own name.

and green activists al gore sells current tv for a lot of green. you won't believe the buyer. grapevine is next. [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be cool if we took the already great sentra apart and completely reimagined it? ...with best-in-class combined mpg... and more interior room than corolla and civic? ...and a technology suite with bluetooth, navigation and other handy stuff? yeah, that would be cool. introducing the all-new nissan sentra. it's our most innovative sentra ever. nissan. innovation that excites. now get a $169-per-month lease on a 2013 nissan sentra. ♪

>> bret: now fresh pickings from the political grapevine. maybe opposites do attract, at least in tv. current tv, which was founded by former vice president and environmental activist al gore has been sold to al-jazeera, a news organization funded by

the oil rich country of qatar. the price tag $500 million. gore gets $100 million of that. the oil connection caused one conservative blogger to tweet al gore is trending because he just made $100 million from the oil he has been railing against for the last couple of decade. "new york times" reports that gore and his partners tried and failed to complete the sale before the new year to dodge the higher tax rates that took effect on january 1. the sale went through on the second. al-jazeera was not the only suitor, according to the "wall street journal." talk show host glen beck approached current tv. but was rejected because according to current execs, "legacy of who the network goes to is important to us and we are sensitive to networks not aligned with our point of view." the reason al-jazeera was chosen, at first, the current statement read "al-jazeera has the same goals and like

current believes the facts and truths lead to a better understanding of the world around us." revision later was released removing the reference to "shared goals." critics argue it has proislammist stance and some charged that the network continued to work with members of al-qaeda. time warner cable the second larmest cable provider has announceed since the sale it will not carry the new channel. pakistani government dropped the been a on youtube. for the length of a commercial break. according to the "new york times," access to youtube in pakistan lasted three minutes. the back track because the material deemed offensively to muslims was still available on youtube, including the video blamed with starting the september riot across the muslim world. what if the government would not let you use your own name and instead you were just called boy or girl? that is what one icelandic

teenager is going through. her name means light breeze in icelandic is not on the official government approved list of names. yes, there is a government approved list of names so officially she is referred to as girl. the family is suing to have her name approved. it used to be that when pollution crossed borders it was a diplomatic matter. a court ruling could now change that. the future of the business along the canadian border. >> court ruling over the industrial pollution that came from the canadian smelter in the united states is threatening to expose american companies to canadian justice. >> the idea of applying u.s. law across the boarder to a canadian company would be precedent-setting. i would also lead us to think of doing the same to miles per hour companies. >> they operate one of the

largest smelt in the world few miles north of the u.s. border found libel under the superfund law. they admit to discharging toxic chemicals to the colombia river. metals that float across the boarder to washington state. the indian tribe is the plaintiff. >> the agriculture, it affects the salmon and the water we drink. it affects the air we breathe. >> studies looking at the health impact conflicts. one by the harvard medical school found more cases of illness in a nearby town. but the washington state health department concluded the opposite. they have done some clean-up but argued unsuccessfully it should not be subject to the u.s. law and its courts. >> two countries if they have an issue, they deal with each other at country to country government to government basis. what this does is get around that. >> environmental groups in canada celebrate, figuring since tech is held libel for

clean-up and fines they are free to go after the u.s. polluters. pong the first targets 150 coal plants in the upper midwest. businesses in every border state could pay a price. >> it will have a chilling effect on cross-border business. people will have to look at whether they need to be permitted in both countries. >> there are treaties that deal with the cross border pa lution, but none to force a foreign company to pay. others feel it will kill jobs and do it will for environment. in seattle, dan springer, fox news. >> bret: we look at the new 113th congress sworn in today with the fox all-stars when we come back. [ ryon ] eating shrimp at red lobster

is a fantastic experience. 30 shrimp for $11.99. i can't imagine anything better. you're getting a ton of shrimp, and it tastes really good! [ male announcer ] hurry in to red lobster's 30 shrimp for just $11.99! choose any two of five savory shrimp selections, like mango jalapeño shrimp and parmesan crunch shrimp. two delicious shrimp selections on one plate! all with salad and unlimited cheddar bay biscuits. 30 shrimp, just $11.99 for a limited time. wow, that's a lot of shrimp. i'm ryon stewart, i'm the ultimate shrimp lover, and i sea food differely.

she also likes to ride her bike. she knows the potential for making or losing money can pop up anytime. that's why she trades with the leader in mobile trading. so she's always ready to take action,

no matter how wily... or weird... or wonderfully the market's behaving... which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. the american dream is in peril, so long as namesake is weighed down by the anchor of debt. break us hold and we will set our economy free. jobs will come home. confidence will come back. >> speaker boehner, i know all too well that we will not always agree. >> but i hope with all my heart, that we will find common ground that is a higher better place for our country. >> the 113 congress sworn in today. you see on the house side,

speaker boehner re-elected to his position as speaker. on the senate side, preparing for another battle. >> we cannot agree to increase that borrowing limit without agreeing to reform that lower the avalanche of spending. >> with division and collaboration to mark moment history. it was a moment in history. the marks op my face have nothing to do with the fiscal cliff or disagreement that boehner and i have. it's being pale and living in desert most of my life. >> bret: bring in the panel. tucker carlson of dailycaller.com. charles lane for if "washington post." syndicated columnist charles krauthammer. okay, tucker. what do you think in new congress? same battle?

>> the speaker was reinstalled without much of a fight. despite the talk in the last 24 hours we have votes to unseat boehner, it wasn't that close. boehner lost fewer republicans than nancy pelosi lost democrats the last time. >> bret: nine. >> michele bachmann voted for boehner. this tells you how disorganized conservatives are in the end. two days after he proceeds over and endorses the massive tax increase going against basic republican principles. conservatives in the end make him speaker again. >> the caucus is in disarray. they didn't ban together in the fiscal cliff thing.

the republicans have more leverage with the credit ceiling. you heard mitch mcconnell refer to it. it will depend if they use that leverage to whether they get together behind a common position. that will be john boehner's channel to deal with that. my gosh, i mean, i don't envy him as two more years as speaker but i don't know why he got re-elected. i don't think anybody else wanted the job. >> bret: former spea speaker dennis hastert has a rule named for him. majority of the majority, bringing forward a bill. don't bring forward a bill unless the majority of your own caucus supports that piece of legislation. talked about that going forward on brian kilmeade radio show this morning.

>> the problem, maybe you do it once or maybe you do it twice but when you start making deals to get the democrats to pass the legislation, you are in power anymore. if you pass stuff that members aren't in line with, the ability to lead is in jeopard jeopardy. somebody else is making a decision. all tax bills and all spending bills, under the constitution start in the house. if you give up that responsibility you give up the ability to cover it. that's the problem. >> hastert is right. explains what happened to republicans in the battle we just had. once the caucus was split. once they went to plan "b," boehner's attempt to get around the negotiations with obama, to find one position that the caucus could agree on, increase the taxes only on people over $1 million. once he was unable to get the

caucus to pass it. all power drained from the house. it shifted over to the senate, where the deal was worked out. by the time it returned to the house, the republicans had no room to maneuver and no time. they had no choice. i disagree somewhat with tucker. when they took the vote on january 1 to approve the fiscal cliff deal, it was already technically taxes had been raised. it was over. the fight was over. if they had done nothing. the taxes going up on everybody and blame on republicans. i would commend boehner and paul ryan who in the end voted yes for a bad deal they had to do it. for some courage. knowing the deal was awful. and letting somebody on the back benches have to do it for

them. they have to be united from now on. once they split, all power devolves and they're irrelevant. >> boehner is done with the one-on-one negotiations with president obama and wants the will of the house to work its will. go through the normal process. a signal i'm with you. >> he was forced to make that announcement. >> look, this is not the end. even in this month, democrats said they want immigration bill, gun control bill by january. i asked a question do you think the members of the caucus will break to vote for gun control? he said yes. if you see sizable number peel off to vote for new version of the assault weapons ban say, it's over.

they are not a credible opposition. >> bret: talk about the upcoming fight on, with the debt ceiling as the backdrop. they are extracting spending cut. today, the former budget director for president obama for both president obama talked about whether the democrats have leverage in the fight. take a listen. >> you can say you are not negotiations but there will be in february and marm. >> who has the leverage in this? if you look at what happened in three days do you say the democrats won? say the republicans won? >> the white house won that round. by not insisting the debt limit tied to the package, it's possible they will win the week and lose the quarter. you don't know yet until you see how february, march plays

out. no doubt they have less leverage than in the round they completed. >> orzag is blunt, there saying the hand that the white house has is not as strong as believed. >> blunt, but i'm not sure i agree with him. republicans if they play the cards right. they would have leverage because of the debt ceiling. but it cuts both ways. bret explained there were technical issues there earlier but the fact of the matter is the president can stand back to say the irresponsible republicans are playing with our nation's credit. a lot of political oomph to that. it would be risky for them. >> on the flip side, every poll you ask about concern about the debt, passing on all of this to your kids or grand kids, is still out there.

that there is concern about it. it's just, how you phrase it. how do that play? >> we have history on this. a debt ceiling debacle. in july of august of 2011. it's true that republicans in house took a hit in public opinion. but so did obama. people expect him to be a leader. if you have an injury to our credit rating, they will say yes. of course, republicans in the house. he gets hurt on that. it's equal. unequal on the fiscal cliff. the republicans have to be united but not only in the prescription approximately. unite on what they want. on plan "a" or "b" or "c." it's not all ad hoc. it can be a dollar of debt ceiling increase for dollar of debt reduction, which they try

in 2011. or a balanced budget amendment. >> bret: that is what we could see. balanceed budget amendment call. >> it would help republicans and i crease the leverage. although, i believe policy isn't the greatest idea. >> as far as the dead itself. >> bret: p.r. next up how president obama is continuing the war on terror.

my client was arrested in jabuti, by >> megyn: beautyan authorities and held

incommunecato for a while and held by the authorities and roughed up quite a bit. and then at some point, american officials from the f.b.i. and other unnamed agencies interrogated him. >> bret: the attorney for one of three aed member of terror group arrested overseas in >> megynoverseas in >> megyn: breoversea in jabuti. they dispute the rendition that they were roughed up as he alleges. of course, this goes against what candidate obama and the early in the president's term talked about. looking back to the bush era. terrorist, the use of anti-terror measures. >> we don't ship prisoners in the dead of night to be

tortured. >> that rendition is inappropriate. >> bret: tucker, a lot of bush era terror policies continue. >> the most remarkable thing is outcry from the liberal left that went outrageous in the bush era and they have been silent. not just international stuff but domestic stuff. potential spying on the american citizens. we know the f.b.i. read private e-mails between general petraeus and broadwell, without a warrant. on one grounds. why is that okay? why is nobody up in arms about it? a big deal. >> bret: gritmo is open -- gitmo is open. fisa was signed.

warrantless wiretap operation. drone activity increased from president bush. >> we have a clear partisan difference. democrats do drone strikes which some call assassination and republicans do waterboarding and some call that torture. this is clear why this president is doing what he is doing. some of this stuff works. not withstanding what he said in the priest campaign. secondly, it's popular. it's not popular. widely acquiesceed in, with public opinion. he ran for re-election, one of the highest ratings consistently was on the fight against terrorism. he was over 50%. for democrat to score that strongly, on a national security issue was new in our politics. >> bret: charles, the silence from the left and those groups that were loud in the bush years is pretty --

>> hypocrisy is astonishing. but i welcome it. what it means is the rotation of power in a democracy is a fantastic asset. as long as republicans were doing the fisa and the wiretaps and were doing the patriot act in guantanamo and rendition, offense against humanity. democrats are now in office. they understand that this entire architecture that the bush administration created right after 9/11, was a tremendous asset. kept us safe. what we need for the terroris terrorism. -- antiterrorism. if you are the president you protect your country. you do what you have to do. it indicates what the bush administration has done. now ve a consensus on that a terrific advance over where we were when the republicans were in power. the only reason to be grateful that obama won in 2008. >> bret: that is it for panel. but stay tuned for something

inspirational that can get about anyone to forget about partisanship in washington. now, here's one that will make you feel alive. meet the five-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max says ha. c-max says wheeee. which is what you get, don't you see? cause c-max has lots more horsepower than prius v, a hybrid that c-max also bests in mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid.

i >> bret: finally tonight, some good news. some inspiring news. and a step in the right direction. the story of illinois republican senator mark kirk returned today to washington. illinois republican senator mark kirk was ready for a big year in 2012 which when it

happened. >> the 52-year-old kirk had emergency surgery following a weekend stroke. >> the stroke nearly killed him. then came months of painful rehabilitation. kirk kept his illinois constituents updated with videos on his senate web site. >> the progress that i have made has been very encouraging. learning to walk again and improving my speaking skills, all due to the experts at the rehabilitation center in chicago. >> i'm walking again. leading to my hope to climb the 45 steps that my staff counted from the parking lot to the senate front door. >> bret: today, greeted by vice president biden and his senate colleagues. >> welcome back, man. [cheers] >> senator kirk did what he talked about doing in rehab. he climbed those capitol steps.